[The 90’s raw: Racism, Kayapo, Islam]

Raw footage for the award-winning series The 90's. Interviews with author Roger Lane about black poverty, Dagma Karstenson about waitressing, Richard Cottam about Islam and Saddam Hussein, as well as a press conference about the Amazonian Kayapo people.

00:00Copy video clip URL Author Roger Lane talks to videomaker Eddie Becker about becoming interested in the issue of black poverty (academically) and a family interest (he himself is white). The camera remains close on his face for the duration of the interview. Lane distinguishes between direct and indirect racism, direct racism being the extreme racism historically. “The problems of the black community must be blamed directly on the legacy of racism,” and this racism is post-slavery.

05:36Copy video clip URL Lane talks about the post-war period, and the conversation turns to the ways that science falsely supported racism, such as the idea that unburnt carbon in the skin causes a darker color.

08:48Copy video clip URL Lane discusses the book he has just written, reflecting on the black population in Philadelphia over the past century, Roots of Violence in Black Philadelphia.

10:40Copy video clip URL As for the ’90s, Lane sees parallels between current conditions and those in the first half the century, in that there are opportunities but the working class population undercuts these opportunities. “A black middle class can’t sustain itself without support from below…[which] is being eroded.” The hope lies in education.

15:12Copy video clip URL Becker asks about the relationships between real estate and racism, in mechanisms such as gentrification. Lane calls these all “ghetto-ization” and attributes the failure of black entrepreneurs to this. The solution, again, is education across the population. The interview ends.

19:22Copy video clip URL Tape cuts to a table of speakers at a press conference about environmental problems the Kayapo people are experiencing. A Kayapo man (a tribe in Brazil in the Amazon) speaks Portuguese while another man, Darrell Posey, translates. He talks about how nowadays the tribe is stationary, whereas in the past they would move around in a much more hygienic way.

22:00Copy video clip URL A woman asks about the pressure for raising cows or selling land in the Amazon. Someone in the back asks an inaudible question, and the answer has to do with relationships and alliances between Amazonian tribes. Legal authority rests with the government, the Kayapo man says, though they are trying to bring it into their own hands.

31:12Copy video clip URL The tape cuts, a man speaks in Kayapo about what his people want from the forest, and the man translates. They want to plant things like brazil nuts to preserve the rainforest.

36:00Copy video clip URL The tape cuts, and Posey gives a speech about anthropological research, though disapproving of the academic delays of contact with indigenous peoples, and discusses the current state of and opportunities for the Kayapo.

46:08Copy video clip URL The tape cuts to a man asking a question about danger to the culture. The Kayapo man responds by citing some changes to the culture, but that the culture is generally maintained. A woman asks about chief status as the question and answer continues.

50:47Copy video clip URL Darrell Posey, the man who had been translating and speaking, is interviewed. He originally was interested in entomology, and then became more interdisciplinary, trying to understand the indigenous people’s view of nature. He finds their knowledge important, because of the huge biodiversity of the rainforest.

56:34Copy video clip URL They do a second take about how 98% of the forest is destroyed to gain profit from 2%. Posey wants to make sure neither the forest nor its people are exploited. The interview ends.

01:01:00Copy video clip URL Interview with a waitress, Dagma Karstenson, in a restaurant, talking about how her philosophy of waitressing has changed over the years she’s been in the business, especially on the subject of interpersonal relationships. She says the other people she works with do not work in the same way. She describes the two kinds of customers, those that want to talk and those that don’t.

01:09:32Copy video clip URL Karstenson talks about complaints and her response and attitudes toward complaint. She learned how to “break down barriers” with guests. She thinks the best managers are sensitive and aware, and talks about working with them to correct problems.

01:21:45Copy video clip URL Karstenson herself is not attracted to management work, because she likes direct contact with her patrons. Talking about tips and salary, she dislikes the incentive system and yearly evaluations. “There’s a gratification involved” in working as a waitress and helping people. She talks about the fact that she has a masters degree, and many people are surprised by this. But, she does not like the alternative of getting caught up in gaining things and working in a bureaucracy. For a contrast, she tells an anecdote about a 6 year old boy who still sends her cards.

01:34:22Copy video clip URL Karstenson describes using information about regular guests to anticipate what they’ll want. As for her future, she talks about finishing her thesis in medical anthropology.

01:37:51Copy video clip URL Interview with Richard Cottam, who works in the department of political science at the University of Pittsburgh, about his perspective on Islam and Arabs. He wears a suit, and the camera is tight on his face. He finds it important to learn about the Middle Eastern peoples, and discusses nationalism.

01:42:31Copy video clip URL Cottam explains the perception of the US by the Arabs, and how the US has only reinforced these stereotypes. Both sides demonize the other and glorify themselves.

01:46:53Copy video clip URL Cottam discusses perceptions and misperceptions of Saddam Hussein. Cottam does not find him crazy, as many others assume, but rather thinks that he uses stereotypes to his advantage. Hussein is interested in personal power and is aggressive, and in that way he is similar to Hitler. So far, however, Hussein is not self-destructive.

01:59:55Copy video clip URL Cottam discusses a recent statement by Hussein.

01:52:49Copy video clip URL Cottam restates what he’s said about Hussein.

01:57:45Copy video clip URL Cottam’s personal history–he studied nationalism in Iran.

01:58:35Copy video clip URL End of tape.

 

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